Rare Unreleased MÖTLEY CRÜE Song Unearthed, Featuring Mick Mars

TMD has unearthed a rare MÖTLEY CRÜE gem that was intended to be used for a video game, and features legendary guitar icon Mick Mars jamming hard.

On the near 3-minute-long track unearthed from a Crue studio recording session around the time of New Tattoo album released in 2000, fans will be thrilled to hear the guitar legend in his prime. Drummer Tommy Lee does not play on this song, due to the fact that he was not happy with Vince Neil and felt like the band was going in the wrong direction again with Neil behind the microphone. (Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?) Lee’s replacement Randy Castillo would fall ill and eventually die due to cancer, and the female drummer from Hole was used for the band’s concert appearances to promote New Tattoo. So, there is no telling who actually plays the drums on this track. It could even just be a drum program. Honestly, the bass sounds too perfect to be Nikki Sixx, so it is most probably a hired session bass player used in the mix.

The song is titled “Tribes” and was intended to be used for the video game Tribes 2. However, this never happened, and the song was scrapped. Crüe and Elektra Records ended their 17-year relationship together at this time, with the Crüe gaining full ownership of their music catalog and all publishing rights.

Lee had to serve a stint in jail for spousal abuse, when he attacked his wife Pam Anderson Lee, while holding one of his sons. Lee went on to start Methods of Mayhem band and was not in the Crue any longer when New Tattoo dropped. Then Randy Castillo died bravely battling cancer in 2002. Lee had last appeared on 1997’s Generation Swine album and would not be heard from again until the band’s final full length album Saints of Los Angeles in 2008. So in the past 26 years, Lee has only played on two full length Crue studio albums.

Above photo credit: Ross Halfin